Palo Alto technical comments ahead of resutlsThe shares have been in a classically bullish uptrend through much of the year, with some steepening of trend in the last several weeks as earnings approach. If the news is strongly bullish, there is only the life high at $146.28 as resistance which would very likely be tested and probably broken. That would open up a run to $150 to $160 depending on the strength of the news. If there is a disappointment, the following support levels could become downside objectives: $138.20, $133.01, and $128.54. The latter level is the current price for the 50-day moving average. The stock could come down to that level and still be in a strong uptrend longer-term.

Palo Alto volatility elevated into Q2 and outlook Palo Alto March weekly call option implied volatility is at 83, April is at 45, June is at 39; compared to its 26-week average of 43 according to Track Data, suggesting large near term price movement into the expected release of Q2 results today after the market close.

Palo Alto volatility and share price increases into Q2 and outlook Palo Alto March weekly call option implied volatility is at 63, April is at 42, June is at 38; compared to its 26-week average of 43 according to Track Data, suggesting large near term price movement into the expected release of Q2 results on March 2.

Analyst sees 'massive' IT security upgrade cycle still in early inningsA number of trends are spurring businesses and the government to spend aggressively on cyber security offerings, benefiting companies in the IT security sector, wrote research firm FBR Capital in a note to investors today. In conjunction, the firm raised its price target on a number of stocks in the sector. WHAT'S NEW: After conducting checks, FBR Capital analyst Daniel Ives believes that spending on advanced cyber security products has increased this quarter. The ongoing series of well-publicized cyber attacks on large companies is causing businesses to become more concerned about protecting themselves from this threat, according to Ive, who believes that advanced IT security products have "massive," once in a multi-decade growth potential. Data points indicate that enterprises are looking to buy more advanced firewall/cloud security solutions, while the sizes of purchases by customers in the space have increased. Meanwhile, given the high priority that the Obama administration has placed on cyber security, the federal government's spending on IT security is likely to rise in the coming quarters and years, Ives wrote. Forecasting a 20% increase in overall cyber security spending this year, the analyst believes that the following companies should benefit disproportionately from the positive trends, since they have "the right products at the right time:" Palo Alto (PANW), FireEye (FEYE), Proofpoint (PFPT), Check Point (CHKP), and Fortinet (FTNT). The analyst raised his price target on Fortinet to $39 from $36, on Palo Alto to $160 from $121, on Proofpoint to $67 from $60, and on Check Point to $93 from $85. He kept Outperform ratings on all the stocks named. WHAT'S NOTABLE: In its own note to investors, RBC Capital said it expects Palo Alto to report stronger than expected Q2 results, driven by "impressive" revenue and margin improvements. The firm raised its price target on the shares to $150 from $145 and kept an Outperform rating on the stock. PRICE ACTION:In early trading, Palo Alto added 0.2% to $138.41, FireEye advanced 1.2% to $43.87, Proofpoint lost slipped fractionally to $56.55, Check Point rose 0.5% at $82.77, and Fortinet gained 1.3% to $33.76.

FBR checks show strong cybersecurity deal momentumFBR Capital raised its price targets in the next-generation cybersecurity space after its channel checks showed strong deal momentum so far in the March quarter. The firm believes the "massive upgrade cycle" for next-generation cybersecurity remains in the early days. It raised its price target for Fortinet (FTNT) to $39 from $36, for Palo Alto (PANW) to $160 from $121, for FireEye (FEYE) to $53 from $45, for Proofpoint (PFPT) to $67 from $60 and for Check Point (CHKP) to $93 from $85.

CyberArk downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorganJPMorgan downgraded Cyberark Software (CYBR) to Underweight, its sell-equivalent, saying "a lot needs to go right" to justify the current valuation. JPMorgan keeps a $42 price target for the stock, well below Friday's closing price of $70.35. It points out that CyberArk's valuation is in-line with Palo Alto Networks (PANW), despite the latter company's total addressable market being roughly five times larger in its estimation. Cyberark is an Israel-based security company offering protections against cyber attacks.